Conspiracy Theory
by Maximum55Fan
Summary: Faith & Bosco's friends and family are sick of their fighting and take action...
1. Default Chapter

Faith was still humming to herself as she opened the bathroom door and stepped into the hallway, towel-drying her hair as she walked.

"I hope you're decent."

The giant towel she had wrapped around herself in when she got out of the tub came within inches of hitting the floor. "Bosco, what the hell are you doing here!"

In answer, he raised his right hand. Which wasn't very far, as it was attached to a set of handcuffs that were in turn securely locked to the radiator.

Faith stood frozen in the hall entry, as she faced with a completely unexpected scene before her. Her partner, Bosco was sitting sprawled out on the end of the couch, which had been pushed close to the radiator, head resting on the back, eyes closed, right arm stretched out towards the rad. "What the hell are those?"

He sighed. "They're handcuffs, Faith"

"I'm aware of what they are Bosco. I meant what the hell are they doing here, in my apartment - attached to you - and my rad?"

"Well, I may be going out on a limb here, but I'm thinking Sully hasn't been enjoying riding with me the past few days. Although what he thinks bringing me here is going to do about it, I don't know"

Faith was only paritially listed, distracted by the metal hardware currently imprisoning Bosco in her apartment.

She pointed towards them. "Are those my handcuffs?"

"No Faith, you would have the key to _your _handcuffs, wouldn't you. These are Sully's – or Davis, maybe. Who knows? I wasn't really given an opinion or consulted regarding their little plan"

"Plan?"

"Yeah, like a game plan. You think I got here on my own, did this to myself somehow? It was a planned attack, Sully and Davis. And _your daughter_, who was the one who called me, said you needed help and to stop by after work. I told her tough, but Sully thought we ought to come over. You know, Sully wanting to help someone else, that really shoulda been a clue…jag offs."

"Tough? Nice, Bosco. Thanks."

"Whatever…"

"And don't call my daughter a jag-off."

"Well excuse, me _**jagette**-_off then cuz she was totally in on this Faith. Who do you think opened the door, let us in, rearranged your furniture here?"

"But I don't get it - in on what? Why are you here...in handcuffs?"

"This is their pathetic attempts to make us talk or stop fighting or whatever the hell it is they think is wrong with…" Bosco broke off as he raised his head and looked at Faith for the first time. "…with us, like this is going to help. Although if that towel goes any lower, _that _might help."

Faith looked at him blankly – towel? She looked down - and saw that the towel she had wrapped herself in after her bath was slowly heading in the same direction.

She shot him a look, as she hiked the towel back into position.

"Don't go anywhere!"

"'I'm frickin handcuffed to a rad here, Faith. What do you think, I've got detachable parts or something!"

She was back out of her bedroom quickly, sweats in place, hair in pony tail and headed for the door to her apartment. Bosco had resumed his head-back, eyes-closed position on the couch.

"Don't bother, they did something to it."

"What'd they do?"

"I don't know Faith –get with the program, would you? I – am – handcuffed – over – here. I heard them messing around on the other side of the door – I don't think they were fixing your Christmas decorations."

Faith had reached the door, where it was evident that Bosco was right. It wasn't going to open with the door knob and hinges gone. When she looked through the peephole, she couldn't see out – something was covering the door.

"It won't open"

Bosco's sigh across the room was even more irritating than he was.

"No shit"

"Well excuse me, unlike some people here, I haven't had a lot of time to come to figure this out...Exactly how long have you been sitting here, anyway?"

He lifted his free, left hand, checking his watch. "37 – no, wait - 38 minutes."

"You been here over half an hour? Why didn't you yell or something?"

"Gee now why didn't I think of that" Okay, now he was starting to get annoying. "I did, Faith – for the first 22 minutes, I hollered my head off. You apparently couldn't hear me over the tunes you had blasting in there."

He looked pissed at her, as if she should have somehow known her partner would get himself handcuffed to the furniture in her apartment, and that she should be listening for him.

"Plus, I was afraid if you just heard a noise, you might think it was a burglar, and accidentally shoot me"

Actually, a burglar likely would have been safe. The odds were better she would have come out armed if she had known it was Bosco.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Not owned by me...

"I don't suppose there's any point in checking the windows."

"Nope – they nailed them shut from the outside; Davis went down the fire escape…"

"Of course he did"

She slid down the wall, settling into a crouch against it. As she lowered her head onto her arms, crossed over her knees, something on the floor caught her eye. "Hunh"

"What?"

"There's a note here." She reached for it, stuck underneath the edge of a mat.

"A note? What do you mean, a note?"

"I mean a note, Bosco. You know, a form of written communication? It's addressed to us…" Faith unfolded the piece of white paper and read it, and read it again, her stomach clenching nervously as she read the message.

"What's it say?"

Faith continued to stare at the paper, not sure how to proceed. "Uhhh, it just says…uh we need to talk and work this out"

"No it doesn't Faith. I can see through the back – there's more writing than that on that there"

"No, that's it, really…"

"Come on, Faith – I'm stuck over here and you're over there and I can't come over, so just read what it says already!"

She took a deep breath, not knowing how he was going to react, not sure if she wanted to find out. "Okay, it says; "You guys need help. This has obviously gone beyond your usual "spats", so please deal with the real issues you have." That would be Davis "Make up, break up, kill each other, whatever. Screw each others brains out if that's what it takes. Just get over it and quit crapping on our lives." Ummm, that's signed Sully"

"'Scuse me? He said what? - and what issues? We don't have "issues"! What, Davis thinks he's Dr. Phil now?"

She just stared at him over the note, raising her eyebrows at him _do you want me to continue?_ He rolled his eyes in response _fine._

"It also says "Mom – Sully told me what he wrote. Personally I'd prefer if the two of you did not take the killing route. But you guys have to work this out. You're driving everyone nuts. Please, just kiss and make up" Bosco snorted. "Oh, and Sully adds "Faith, I didn't read the part about screwing to Emily" Well, how thoughtful…"

"What the hell is that about?"

Ah, anger. Well, that was in keeping with his reaction to the situation so far. And it was starting to rub off on her.

"How the hell should I know? You were the one stupid enough to get yourself cuffed to my rad."

"Stupid enough? Thanks a lot, Faith. I thought we were coming to your rescue - "

_Rescue? Oh, right_…

"What did Emily say was wrong, anyway?"

"Huh? Oh…uh, I don't remember…"

"Pardon? It was like what, an hour ago, how can you not remember? What else have you had to do but sit here and think, reviewing the events leading up to your stupidity in getting yourself tricked into this mess? It's not like you've been working out quantum physics calculations and ran out of room for anything else in your tiny little brain" Yeah, she was getting mad

"She said you smelled gas…"

"What"

"She said you thought you had a gas leak…"

"Bos, for cripes sake, I have electric!"

"Oh – well, how are you supposed to tell the difference. It's a friggin' stove!"

She turned her head away, hiding the smile that had crept up in spite of her sincere desire to stay really, really mad at Bosco. That had to be the lamest excuse that could have possible been invented to get him up here. _Emily, Emily I am disappointed in you. Really, I mean come on - gas_?

"So what do you think they mean?"

"About what?" Her amusement had momentarily distracted her from the thread of their conversation.

"About the note and stuff, what they say, you know…"

No, she didn't know! Okay, well, actually, to be honest, she guessed she did. There had always been rumours and gossip about the two of them, waxing and waning as new cops came on the job, questioned their relationship, assumed they were a couple, were dissuaded of their illusion and then left to make their own peace with it.

The fact that she was married always served as somewhat of a deflector to the knowing looks that would be exchanged between the other offices in the locker room when they walked in together, the occasional smirk shot their way in roll call. She knew that the way they fought didn't help – the way they could get mad at each other over the littlest things (_the biggest things, too_), blow up at each other, quit talking and then make up with a tentative smile and a meaningless exchange of trite words (_the words never really mattered, anyway)_ – well, even to her, they sometimes resembled lover's quarrels. She guessed recent events – her appearance with his family at his brother's wake, him putting his body between her and death, her subsequent hunting down and murder of the instigator of that death - had sent the locker room rumour mill into overdrive, raising questions of the true nature of their relationship all over again. Her being a detective now and him having been away for so long had left the gossip about them free to run unfettered, stories being expanding and elaborated on, without the benefit of either of their presences to provide some control.

She would have been pretty sure that Sully and Davis would have made an effort to quash the gossip, but based on the current state of affairs, she was thinking they had jumped on that bandwagon.

On good days, when she had the strength to face it, she also questioned their relationship to herself, wondered what made each of them do the things they did for and to each other. She questioned from what part of her soul the suffocating, primal need she had felt to destroy the man who had destroyed her partner had its origin. What it was that had drawn her to help him, to need him, right from the beginning, at the academy. What led her back to his side in that apartment, two years ago.

She didn't often dare look too deep or too long into the brilliantly lit abyss that had opened up in the hospital that day, the one that threatened to engulf her in flames as she watched them working on his lifeless body, the one that she entered willingly on the rooftop of that building, the one that she was ready to fall into forever and that only the knowledge that he was alive and fighting had had the strength to draw her back from, the abyss that still lived behind her. While they were fighting she could ignore it, she could deny to herself how much she wanted to go back to that abyss, crawl across it's heat and discover what lie on the other side, maybe to become finally whole, finally complete, finally with him..

She stood up quickly, snapping herself back from the edge, furious at letting herself be lured close, even just for a moment, furious with Sully and Ty for forcing, with her daughter for trying, with Bosco for existing…

"Bosco, you know what? Right now, I don't care what they meant. Nor do I really care how you got here. I'm not going to play any stupid games. I'm going to bed. Goodnight, Bosco"

"Hey, hey wait a second – you can't leave me out here"

"Yeah, actually I can."

She turned off the lights, walked into her room and closed the door, which wasn't nearly thick enough to drown out Bosco breathing, much less Bosco hollering for her at the top of his lungs. And the walls sure weren't thick enough to keep the neighbours from hearing.

"Knock it off, you idiot. The whole building can hear you". She flung the door open, yelling as loud as he was and stormed back into the living room. Bosco jumped up, and was immediately yanked off his feet, the handcuffs jerking him back down.

"Shit! Jesus, that hurts"

"Sit still then, stupid"

"I'm not going to be quiet, Faith. You've gotta help me here, get these off." Faith walked closer to take a look. The moonlight through the window glinted on the cuffs, showing how they had tightened uncomfortably when Bosco had yanked on them.

"Gosh, that looks like it hurts"

"It does"

"Good – you're an ass, you deserve it. Good night"


	3. Chapter 3

"Come on, call someone or do something! Call Sully - call the House!"

Faith was mid-way to the kitchen to get ice for Boscos wrist, but stopped in her tracks at his comments. Turning to lean against the wall separating the kitchen from the dining area, she lowered her head and pinched the bridge of her nose between her fingers. His temper tantrums always wore her out.

"Bosco, I kinda doubt if that will help. Sully & Davis -with help from my daughter, yes I remember - have basically kidnapped you and handcuffed you here against your will. They have barricaded us in. I suspect that a phone call isn't going to bring the cavalry running. I wouldn't be surprised if they have parked the RMP and themselves in front of this building, to make sure no one else can get to us". But she picked up her cell as she was speaking and angrily dialed Sully's cell as she spoke – no surprise, the phone was turned off.

"It's turned off"

"Well then call the-"

"Bosco – seriously, you want me calling the House on this?" Faith was incredulous, and her barely-banked anger flared up quickly. While the situation was ridiculous, the opportunity to vent some of the anger she felt towards herself at him was too tempting. Plus, she was damn sure this wasn't the sort of thing that should be shared with ones coworkers or boss, and double-damn sure she did not want to be the topic of any further locker room analysis. She continued with her tirade.

"You actually want me calling our House, asking someone to please come over to my apartment at – what time is it? – to come over at 12 o'clock at night, and oh, could you please bring keys for my partner, who is handcuffed to my rad? Yeah, that should go over really well – nothing strange about that. Just another day in the soap opera lives of Officers Yokas and Boscorelli! And even if I did make such a call – no Bosco, I will **not **make that call, so put the damn phone down - I'm pretty sure there conveniently would not be one car, not one beat cop, not one friggin' bike cop anywhere in this sector that could respond. I mean, I'm pretty sure I could hang a friggin' sign off of the fire escape, advertising 'Free Crack' and there wouldn't be a cop by here for three days!"

Bosco was silent, knowing that anything he said to would only serve to prolong her rampage, that when an all-out Faith tirade was in full sail, the mere act of his drawing breath would provide enough impetus to keep it going, knowing she would run herself aground soon enough…

"Crap! They have really pissed me off! And you! You really piss me off! I am completely stuck here – sorry, yes, we are stuck here - I'm not going forget about you anytime soon, am I! Gotta hand it to them, they did a nice job. I'm really not sure…I can't think of anyone else to call, I don't have any tools to open the doors or windows…I can't think what to do here - I think I've run out of options."

She took a deep breath, feeling the anger begin to dissipate, being replaced by a vague sense of helplessness and was surprised as a giggle threatened to escape– wait, this isn't funny!

No, no, actually – it is. It's really kind of hilarious. They had handcuffed Bosco to her rad, for pete's sake! She wished she had Sully and Ty performing that little task – _they could use that as a stunt on Fear Factor._ She could only imagine his response when he realized he'd been tricked, and when they put the cuffs on! Another burst of laughter bubbled up - well, she just hoped Emily had left the apartment by then. Living in New York City had unavoidably exposed her young daughter to an extensive vocabulary of curses and epithets in a wide variety of languages, but she suspected Bosco had used a few new ones, probably invented in honour of this occasion.

Okay, sure, she and Bosco were just fighting, but it's not like that was anything new. It had been a bit more serious than usual _the hell with you Faith!_ but come on, they'd died for each other, killed for each other. It was going to take a bit more than a bit of yelling and posturing to drive each other away. Why did their friends feel they had to go to this extreme?

He had been quiet for almost a minute; she couldn't read his face across the dark room, was pretty sure he couldn't see hers and the grin that had crept across her face.

"Well - we kind of have one"

"One what?"

"Options. We could just do it"

"Do what?" Had she missed something here?

"You know, **_it _**– how did Sully put it? "_Screw each others brains out_"? That Sul, he's quite the poet, isn't he?… Anyway, yeah that part –wanna give it a try?"


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

She was thankful that in her rushing fury to get to Bosco earlier, as he had attempted to shout the building down around them, that she had neglected to turn the lights on when she had come storming out her room. The darkness hid what she was sure was a vapid and stunned look on her face, suddenly stark white as all the blood drained out of her body and just as suddenly bright red in a fierce blush as it all rushed back…

_Wanna give it a try... _

Oh God…until he said it, she had no idea that was indeed exactly what she wanted, what she had been wanting for God knows how long. The realization left her torn, one part desperate to run and claw her way out of her apartment, getting as far away from him as possible, and the other, equal part wanting to fly across the room and throw herself into his arms. The two opposing forces combined to produce a in her a state of inertia, leaving her incapable of either.

"Hello Faith – you still over there?" His tone was light, slightly teasing. _Of course, he was just kidding. Of course. I'm relieved, really…_

Bosco took her silence as permission to elaborate on his theory.

"Well we could, you know – I'm a man, you're a woman. Physically it's possible"

_Okay, this is how it will go. Two partners, just kidding around. Fine, I'm fine with that…_He couldn't see as she took a deep breath, being sure when she spoke to put a smile in her voice;

"As good as I'm sure you are, Officer Boscorelli, I think the handcuffs could pose a problem"

"Oh, you'd be surprised" She could hear his answering grin in response to her manufactured lightness of tone, and she was shaken by how much of an effort it took for her to present that façade

"No I don't think I would be, actually" she said, taking a deep, balancing breath and forcing herself to chuckle as she crossed the room. _Yeah, this is okay – joking with Bosco is always good. I'm happy with this, I will be._

She reached him quickly and sat down, relaxing back into the couch beside him. This was how it went with them, trite words, lame jokes and all was forgiven.

"So are we good?" His bantering tone was gone, serious now that they had progressed through the prescribed steps of their routine. He couldn't see her clearly and therefore couldn't read her expression, her body (_thank God…) _and without the visual cues they both relied on, he wasn't entirely sure they were okay, the make-up procedure successfully completed. Faith looked at him sideways in the dark. "Aren't we always?" she said, grateful that their visual connection wasn't present, as she knew he would see that she really wasn't good, this wasn't what she wanted, that something had changed.

They sat together in companionable silence for a minute or so, the handcuffs clinking softly as Bosco shifted position. "We could still tell them we did, you know"

"Hmm, did what?" Faith had closed her eyes and laid her head back on the couch, his arm across the back of couch adding support, at ease now that they had made up.

"That we did it" Her eyes snapped open. Bosco's hand had started playing with her hair.

"What are you talking about!"

""No, really – think about it. We could say we did it, mess with their heads. Serve them right for doing this to us..."

Faith turned her head to look at Bosco, who had shifted closer to her side in the dark. _Oh right, the dark._ She wriggled a little, moving in closer, knowing it helped him if someone was near.

"No, I don't think that's a good idea, Bos"

"Could be fun" She wasn't sure if he meant the possibility of telling people they did it, or the possibility of actually doing it, but she chose to reply as if it was the first scenario he was referring to.

"No, it would get messed up. Plus, I don't like lying…" _Plus, I couldn't handle pretending, I couldn't handle it not being real._

"So, then let's not lie"

"Quit it"

"I'm just saying..."

"Well, don't" She jerked her head irritatedly, disentangling his fingers that had continued running through the ends of her hair. He lifted his hand back onto the couch, but left his arm in place.

_I will not be hurt, it's just another stupid Bosco game, I will not cry…_she repeated this to herself, a mantra of courage that was completely lacking in conviction, hoping she would begin to believe it, trying to pretend it didn't matter, knowing that it did. And that as soon as the lights were turned back on, he would read it on her, in every move she made. Even with the lights off, he would sense it soon enough. She never could hide from him.

_Maybe I don't want to hide anymore..._


	5. Chapter 5 Conclusion

Final Chapter

A/N; Thanks very much for all the feedback and reviews - they're greatly appreciated! This is the end of this little story, glad you liked it.

She looked at him sideways in the dark. He was unmoving beside her, head resting in his unencumbered hand, his face not visible to her, just the top of his head. _Good this'll be easier if I can just say this, not have to see his face, look in his eyes…_

Faith took a deep breath, and prepared to speak, to reveal what she was thinking, what she was feeling.

"Bos - " "Faith - "

"sorry, go ahead – " "no, you…"

"No, wait Faith. Can I - I need to say something, so I'm just gonna…" _Oh great, he wants to make sure I don't think he meant anything by his joking around, he's terrified I might read something into– _

"Faith – what if I'm not – what if I'm not just _saying_?"

"It's okay Bos, I know you were just jok – what?"

"What? Wait, I said-"

"No, no I heard what you said; I just don't know if I understand what you meant"

"I meant, what if I'm not just saying we should do something. What if I really think we should, you know…what if I'm saying I think I want more for us, from us" He spoke quietly, sounding serious now, his hand sliding down to take hers, his thumb starting to make slow circles on the pulse of her wrist.

Her stomach almost knocked her heart through her mouth. _I am too weak for this temptation. Please, please whatever gods are in charge of this sort of stuff, do not mess with me. Okay, one last chance…_

"Careful, Bos. You keep thinking like that, using that brain muscle, you might hurt something."

"Don't joke, Faith. I'm being serious here

"Sorry…"

"Look, how long we been partners?"

"Thirteen years"

"Right. And since then, what has been my longest relationship with a woman?"

"Um, I'd guess...6 weeks, maybe?"

"Right. And when was the last time I mentioned anything about any woman to you?'

"Uhhhhh…"

"Right. You can't remember. Want to know why? Because it's been almost a couple of years…"

"You haven't been with, with anyone in like, two years!"

"Right"

Faith was silent, stunned by his confession.

"Faith, these are called clues. Being a detective and all, you should be arriving at some sort of conclusion here." He was teasing – was that all, just teasing?

"I wasn't teasing about the rest, Faith. I think I want us...to be more, you know?" _I'm too close, he can read me too easy._ She tried to slide sideways, to put some space between them, but he quickly released her hand and slid his arm around her shoulders, and brought her closer into him, his hand touching, caressing at her hair, her neck, her cheek, pulling them back against the couch and each other. Their heads came to rest within an inches of each other, their words mingling softly in the darkness, surrounding them.

"Sorry, Bos. I don't know what you want me to say. I don't know what you're saying. I'm just tired, worn out, you know and uh, I – well, I gotta say, I'm a little…"

"Faith - just say that you're a little interested, please?. 'Cause that's what I'm saying. I'm interested in you, really interested and I think - uh, I guess I have been for years. So just say that, okay? Just say that maybe I'm not out of line, thinking."

Faith turned her head, and found herself looking directly into his eyes. The moonlight was soft between them, and she smiled at him slightly

"Out of line with what you're thinking? Yeah Bos, actually you are, you are way out of line. You say you think you want this? That's not good enough Bos." He backed away slightly, starting to speak, frowning. She put a finger to his lips to shush him; he kissed it lightly. A tingle of electricity zapped through her entire body, momentarily shutting down any thoughts other than what his kisses could do _and would, oh please, would do before this night is over, oh please and thank you gods-of-this-stuff_ to other, more vulnerable parts of her body. She pulled her hand away, not wanting any further distraction that physical contact with him would present. She needed to get through this, she had to be sure.

He gave her a slight smile and raised an eyebrow at her, able to see her reaction play across her face, feel it in the sudden tension of her body, aware that he had caused it.

"Quit it. You want to know why that's not enough? Let me tell you, then, what it is that I think, okay? Some days, I think if I'd never met Fred, how much better my life would have been. Some days, I think I should have just stayed a housewife, never joined the police. Some days I think a house on the beach would be nice, some days one in the country" She reached up to trail her fingers lightly across his hair, unable to resist touching him, the openness on his face and the permission of the darkness giving her the courage.

"But you know what? What I _think _doesn't matter for shit, Bos." She touched her fingers to his cheek, softening her words. "What I think changes, depending on how the wind is blowing. It's what I _know _that matters. And you - you are what I know. I know that I trust you with my life. I know you're my best friend. I know you're...everything. I know I would die before I let anything affect that. And I know now that the rest of my life has just been a dress rehearsal for the real thing, that I was waiting for you. So don't tell me what you think Bosco, because I don't care.

Tell me what you know"

He had held her eyes during her explanation, and didn't break the connection now as he replied, nodding slowly. "Okay. All right, then. I know that I met a girl 13 years ago, and I thought about hitting on her, but I was more interested in becoming a cop, so I didn't. And I know that not hitting on her was the smartest thing I ever did, because she became my best friend, and she saves my life every day, just by being alive. I know that the man I am today is due more to her than to anyone else, including my old man. I know I hurt her, let her down and that I don't deserve all the chances she's given me. I know she's everything I know about love and how it's supposed to be" He voice broke as he stopped and he moved in closer to her, so his head was bowed to hers, as they sat side by side, leaning together. His hand had risen to her hair and he was stroking it softly.

"I know if she gives me the chance, I'll spend the rest of my life proving to her I deserved it."

And then he kissed her and the life she had been waiting for, began.

_A short time later..._

"So, Bos, what do we do about the cuffs?"

"Huh?"

"The cuffs – how do we get you out of them? I've got better places that we can do – better things…So, how do we get the key from them?"

He didn't reply, but shifted slightly in the dark. She sat looking at him, puzzled, as she heard a soft click. Suddenly, a rapid kaleidoscope of puzzle pieces fell into place – _Bosco, asking Sully, Davis & Em for help in making her see; Bosco walking into her apartment, letting himself be handcuffed into place, waiting for Faith to come out, making up excuses as to how he had got here (I knew Emily could do better than that); Bosco, coaching them on the note; Bosco mastermind of the whole "conspiracy" to get them to talk, to make up, to move forward... _

She nodded slowly to herself. Instead of answering, she stood up and knelt beside him, lifting the wrist that had been cuffed. It was red, chaffed and sore looking. She rubbed it gently for a second and then picked up the loose end of the cuff and snapped it lightly back into place.

"Faith, wait a second. I'm sorry for tricking you! Really - hey, what are you doing!"

"Well, didn't you say earlier that the cuffs wouldn't be a problem?"

She leaned in close and whispered in his ear; "Prove it"

Turns out, he wasn't bragging – they really aren't a problem.

_Aren't I a lucky gir?_


End file.
